Tanner tracks trends in nature

Senior Tanner Walter plans to continue his running career when he heads to college next fall.

Tanner said in high school, he has participated in Cross Country, Wrestling and Track and Field. He added he has been running since freshman year and wrestling since second grade.

Tanner said he also played soccer and football in middle school and baseball in elementary school.

Tanner said Milton’s Cross Country team has qualified for Districts and States every year, placing first in the District his freshman year, and second in the district for the following two.

Tanner said Districts will be held on Oct. 25 at Bloomsburg University and States is set for Nov. 2 at Hershey. He added the top seven runners from every team in the district are automatically qualified for districts.

According to Tanner, his wrestling team qualified for Districts his freshmen year.

Tanner said his freshmen year he personally qualified for Districts in Track and Field for the two-mile, qualified and placed third in the two-mile and qualified for the one-mile sophomore year. He added he qualified in the mile, 4×800 meter relay and two-mile. Tanner stated he placed seventh in the 4×800 meter relay and fifth in the two-mile.

According to Tanner, he qualified for States in Track and Field in the two-mile his sophomore year and qualified in the two-mile his junior year and placed fifth.

Tanner said along with medals from Districts and States, he holds the school record for the two-mile, which he set when he raced in the State Championships last year. He added he was named the second team Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference (PHAC) his freshmen year for wrestling and was the PHAC two-mile champion his sophomore year in Track.

According to Tanner, he plans to major in Environmental Science next year. “It’s a growing field and I like being outdoors,” he added. He said he plans to attend a four-year college for his Bachelor’s Degree and later attend a school near the coast to focus on marine study.

Tanner said he plans to apply to Appalachian State University, located in Boone, N.C. and Slippery Rock, located in Butler County, Pa. He added he was asked to run for both colleges.

Tanner said he plans to participate in Cross Country, Indoor Track and Outdoor Track in college. “I enjoy them; there are plenty of scholarship opportunities, and you make more friends,” he added.

According to Tanner, the night before Cross Country races, he eats a Slim Jim and spaghetti for dinner. He added that this tradition began when his dad took him grocery shopping and offered him a Slim Jim. He said although he thought it would slow him down, he won the race the next day. Tanner added he believes the Slim Jims give him good luck.

Tanner said he also used to have a pair of socks he only wore for big meets, but when they had too many holes in them, he eventually had to throw them away.

According to Tanner, his favorite part about running is that no one can blame anyone else for a personal loss. “I like how they are individualized but as a team,” he added.

Tanner said that although he loves his sports, there are also many drawbacks. “Because it’s all mental, you get down on yourself a lot,” he added.

According to Tanner, he has many fond memories from his years playing sports. He said his favorite memories are winning Districts his freshman year and taking fifth place in the two-mile at States his junior year.

Tanner said his biggest role model is former Cross Country and Track and Field participant Tyler Leeser. Tanner added Tyler was a leader when he first joined Cross Country and now runs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Tanner said his goal is to run as fast at Tyler.

Cross Country Coach and Track and Field Distance Coach Jonathan Dick said his favorite memory of Tanner is when he took fifth place last year at the States Championships.

“During that season, there were many times where his race was good, but it could have been better. However, that day in May, he was calm under pressure and then when the moment came, he went after it and ran what ended up being the fastest two-mile in school history,” Coach Dick said.

Coach Dick said his favorite thing about Tanner is his high expectations for himself and his team. “I remember he talked to me as a freshman and said, ‘Coach, I want to be a state champion as a senior,’ and then put the time and effort to put himself in that conversation,” he added.

According to Coach Dick, Tanner is a great asset to the Cross Country team because he takes pressure off the rest of the team and is very dedicated to the sport.

“The biggest thing for Tanner going forward in college will be for him to find a place where he will be pushed, but also a place where he can have fun and be himself,” said Coach Dick.

According to Tanner, this year’s Boy’s Cross Country team is currently ranked eighth in the state, which is the highest the team has been ranked since he has been a part of the team.